Military Trail Work To Be Hitting Trail

The end is in sight for the widening of Military Trail between Old Boynton Road and Lake Worth Road, Palm Beach County construction officials say.

Construction has reached such a pace that officials expect the stretch between Hypoluxo Road and Lake Worth Road to be nearly complete in January, said county Construction Coordinator Carl Miller.

The major work remaining in this area, he said, is on the intersections at Melaleuca Lane and Lake Worth Road. Both of these intersections are in the midst of major reconstruction, but the roadway itself is nearly done.

And south of there, between Hypoluxo Road and the Boynton Canal, all four lanes are open, Miller said. Work is more than 95 percent complete, with only curbing and other detail work to do before striping is applied to the final layer of asphalt, which already has been put down.

``This pretty much ties together the two ends of the project,`` he said.

And as a part of this work, Charles Cantrell of Palm Beach County`s Traffic Division said that work has started on the installation of new signals at Military Trail and Lantana Road, including hardware for dual left-turn lanes.

Work also is in progress on the re-installation of other signals up and down the road in the construction area, he said.

Between Old Boynton Road and the canal, Miller said, work is more than 70 percent done, with the major effort continuing on construction of the east half of the canal bridge.

Until this northbound side is done, traffic is being routed in both directions on the already completed west half of the span, which will be the southbound side when the widening is completed.

To the north, work is coming along on the two consecutive widening projects between Blue Heron Boulevard and PGA Boulevard, both of which started some months after the Boynton Beach-Lake Worth widening, Miller said.

The southbound section from Blue Heron to Northlake Boulevard is completed as far north as Grove Park, and is heading toward completion north of there.

Meanwhile, construction is moving along on the northbound side, with the overall project still on schedule.

From Northlake to PGA, however, construction crews have hit some snags with utility relocations, but the delays have been relatively minor. Construction, though, is going full tilt on the west (southbound) side from PGA to Holly Drive in Palm Beach Gardens.

Because of the complexity of this work, Miller advised motorists to find another route unless they absolutely have to be on Military Trail. Traffic movement, while still being maintained, can be agonizingly slow at times.

-- Two major projects in the central county are scheduled to start in early January, Miller said. Both are expected to create traffic delays and some localized chaos.

The major project, he said, is the expansion of heavily traveled Forest Hill Boulevard from four to six lanes from Military Trail to Congress Avenue.

Work should get under way right after the first of the year, Miller said.

A week or two later, he said, work is scheduled to get under way on yet another Okeechobee Boulevard widening project; this one from Royal Palm Beach Boulevard to Folsom Road in Loxahatchee.

This area, including Okeechobee which was only a dirt road not too many years ago, has experienced enough growth recently to warrant its expansion from two lanes to a combination of four and six lanes.

Work, meanwhile, is continuing on the widening of Okeechobee east and west of Florida`s Turnpike as preparations are made to extend the widening from Haverhill Road to Military Trail in a few months.

-- That same growth pattern has dictated the need for a new signal at State Road 80 and Seminole-Pratt Whitney Road, Cantrell said.

An order for that signal has been sent to the Traffic Division`s design shop, where work is under way, he said. Installation should be sometime next year.

-- Meanwhile, signal work is moving forward at both ends of Hagen Ranch Road, Cantrell said.

On the north end, he said, a signal study has been completed at Hagen Ranch and Boynton Beach Boulevard, where counts show a high volume of right turns. County officials feel a signal probably is needed there, but the decision will be up to state traffic engineers.

On the south end, Cantrell said, design work is under way for a flashing signal, convertible to a full signal, at Hagen Ranch and West Atlantic Avenue, with installation likely to take place in 1991.

-- With Interstate 95 interchange improvements, including construction of additional lanes and resurfacing virtually complete at 45th Street and at Blue Heron Boulevard, attention is being turned to the east, Miller said.

A pre-construction conference is scheduled for later this month on major intersection improvements at 45th Street and Congress Avenue, a short distance east of I-95.

This work will include further widening of Congress from the C-17 Canal north through the intersection to the area behind the Humana Hospital. The 45th Street work will be linked with the I-95 improvements.

Traffic Watch is a regular feature of the Sun-Sentinel. If you have a problem in the area where you drive, or know a good shortcut, write: Traffic Watch, Sun-Sentinel; 324 Datura St., Suite 150; West Palm Beach, Fla. 33401.